Schumer: 'Obstructionist' Tea Party 'On the Descent'

Is Schumer's celebration of the Tea Party's demise premature?

Senator Chuck Schumer (NY-D) is positively basking in the glow of the Tea Party's recent election-night losses, and hoping that it means the end of the "repeal Obamacare" zeal that was part and parcel of the upstart anti-tax movement.

Benny Johnson of The Blazenotes Schumer's apparent gloating. "We're going to see a lot of the Tea Party things - 'Let's repeal Obamacare' - play much less prominence in these two years," Schumer told those convened at a breakfast hosted by the The Christian Science Monitor. Schumer also described the Tea Party movement as a force for "obstruction," and "on the descent" - which he referred to as a positive development.

According to C-SPAN, which taped the event, Schumer suggested that Obama's re-election was evidence that "Americans want their government to work in a bipartisan fashion to pass important legislation," and were prepared to get past "the more extreme elements" within the Republican party.

Is Schumer right that the current direction of the Tea Party is downward?

At first glance the Tea Party could have stood for something very important. Cleaning up corruption in govt. But they chose not to do that. They became nothing more than a gathering of the far right extremists of the GOP and that spelled doom for them. I had hope for them in the beginning but it quickly became clear they are less about making govt responsible than they are about pursuing religious agendas and I want no part of that.

Schumer is a bought and paid for POS. So many corporations own him and his closet is so deep they are finding christmas presents. He did the same thing back in 2006 when the GOP lost congress, by the way. He has never lived in paycheck-to-paycheck situation nor has he ever had a real job. He has zero concept of what it is like for the average person and he doesn't want to know.

After four more years of His kind of Socialism, he will be on the Descent. THANKFULLY. It's amazing, to most normal thinking people, four years was enough to know Obama was a complete failure. To Liberals and welfare folks, it would not matter how terrible a president he is. As long as they get their free stuff and the Liberals get to control our lives to their way of thinking they would vote for him. Maybe after four more years, and our nation is on the edge of fiscal collapse, who knows, maybe even the likes of Schumer would wake up. You think? NAH!

@MRMacrum Well, for the last 40 years of following Politics, one thing for sure is the Democrat playbook will NEVER change ..... TAX THE RICH...... THE GOP HATE THE POOR... THE GOP WILL KICK OLD PEOPLE INTO SNOW BANKS... WOMEN WILL GO BACK INTO THE HOMES BAREFOOT AND WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO VOTE....the GOP hate African Americans and will put them back in chains...Seniors will lose their social security checks.... Have I about summed up the Democrat play book every election? Can you see the lies from your beloved left? Or are you one of the brain washed followers. The few times the GOP controlled the White house and the congress, have any of those things ever happened? But when you have the media on your side the Democrats can continue to preach their lies to the ignorant and their welfare voting block.

I will continue to state the common sense truth that I have witnessed for the last 40 years. In all of my being I know 100% for sure what I'm telling you is the truth. 16 Trillion dollars worth of truth! If you continue to believe the likes of Obama, Pelosi & Reid, the ones who refused to even mention our huge debt problem in their Democrat convention.......then what can I say?

@MRMacrum Accusations? I think you know what I say is the truth. I'm not stupid enough to think the GOP are without fault. They have also allowed this debt to rise, but not to the point the Democrats have. We have heard their arguments for the past four years. The GOP wants spending cuts and the Democrats want tax increases(the budget office said those tax increases will do very little to help our debt problem) So, you in your own life understand a budget and what you must do to balance your budget. You must see that the Democrats refuse to cut spending because they want to pander to their voting block. Why do you think the GOP take stands on Abortion, spending cuts, etc. that can only serve to hurt their chances of getting elected. That alone should tell you the GOP stand for something, not what it takes to get re elected but what it takes to help this nation.

I doubt Chuckie is right, he's seldom right about much of anything so why break his record now? This is just more of the faux outrage of the left, totally outraged that any independent group would dare to challenge their authority. It would be laughable if this constant whine about the Tea Party wasn't so pathetic.

What is wrong with limited government living within its means bound by the Constitution? That is not right wing nut jobs...just good sense. Once the Federal Government can no longer borrow money to meet its obligations as Chuck S and others including big government Repub's continue to advocate...welcome to Greece. You will wish the Tea Party had been a factor to keep spending in check.

Just keep on going with the circular firing squad "we're going to primary him" Hailey Barbour, I think MS is considered red state land, "The Repbulicans and the Tea Party need a Proctology exam." What would you say to him?

Once the GOP took in the tea party as their own there was nowhere for the movement to go but down. The base of the movement is libertarian, but it was hi-jacked by the likes of Michelle Bachman to further her national standing pushing a far right social platform. This muddied the waters as to what the Tea Party stood for so they could harness that anger into voting against the other guy instead of voting for something. I hope the originial Tea Party returns and truly transforms their party from the social conservatism the GOP pushes legislatively and into a party that stands for actual fiscal and environmental responsibility. THAT is something I could vote for. People that love our country, love our government, and want it to succeed in an efficient manner.

@Sonny The original Tea Party has been overwhelmed by the religious right. Their power base now the Evangelical zealots like Aiken and Mourdock. They'll continue to win the Red States and lose on a national level.

@AceLuby - The Tea Party began as a libertarian anti-tax movement, but it has long since been taken over by the extreme Christian fundamentalist right wing. I think it began when the Koch brothers started pouring money into Tea Party candidates for congress in 2010. Sadly, the entire Tea Party is now associated with the lunatic fringe, and the GOP is also being painted with that same brush because they (like Romney himself) say things the lunatics want to hear just in order to keep their cushy jobs.

Of course he is wrong. He's nothing more than another millionaire, elitist politician like all of them - of both parties. The dumb-ass voters have coddled these career, parasitic political hacks for so long , they have no idea & little care what the working class do or need. They are no better than the career welfare beggars living off the working man & woman - except these political prostitutes wear suits. We need 'term limits' on them .

The Tea Party helped the house get control. I am not sure why they are lied about and demonized. Half of what is on this thread are outright blatant lies. What have they done to deserve this nastiness??? Exersize their freedom to back politicians that think as they do?? How ridiculous. I wonder if some on the left wouldn't just be fine with a one party dictatorship. I am so sick of people accusing some on the right for wanted their values reflected in their gov. Because that is exactly what everyone wants. Each and every citizen left or right votes for that very reason. Gasp!! Your value system, moral code can come from anywhere. But the bottom line,,you want your's reflected. Secularism is no different than any other religion. And by gosh you on the left want to "establish" that as the one moral belief system we all should follow. You are just too holier than thou to see it. I am sick of the left wing progressive zealots pushing their moral code on the whole darn country. Look around, this country is a mess. So how is that workin for us.

The Secularists as you call them only want to prevent the theocrats from poisoning the system that was set up to keep religion out of the political process. Your moral codes should not be allowed to infringe on the moral codes of others through legislation and vice a versa. There is over the top stupidity from both sides, but the extreme examples hardly represent either as a whole.

You say look around, the country is a mess. Well welcome to reality. A society as free as ours will always be messy. You should rejoice in that fact. Instead you condemn it. So how is it working out for me? Just fine. It doesn't seem to be working so well for you. Why is that? Because I will not bend my ethical code to match yours? Probably. That does not mean either of us are bad people. We just disagree.

Left pushing our moral code on the country?! It is the right that want to tell women that it should be illegal to make some of the most personal and intimate decisions a woman makes. I don't want to establish any moral value system, what I seek is to leave people who are not hurting others alone. The right wants to use govt force and coercion at every turn. They want to force people to have govt issued photo ID, they want to arrest people for smoking marijuana, they want to harrass and deport people who are just trying to earn a living.

As to the Tea Party, they are basically hypocrites and bigots. I remember the video of those anti-health care rallies. Largly composedof people clearly of age and collecting social security, reaping the benefits of Medicare, and demanding that the govt provide the benefits they take to others.As for their ability to organize and takeback the House, I do wish the left could learn from that, I have admiration for it, but now they are all whining about military cuts due to take effect that they voted into law, another example of hipocracy on their part. They hold the country hostage in negotiations to reauthorize the debt, causing S&P to lower the countries credit rating and then vote into law it's we all must live with, but fail to negotiate as promised, and now cry like babies because they don't want to suffer the consequences of their actions. That said let me be clear although I personally hold them in contempt, I have nothing but appreciation for them. They helped Obama win re-election. I detail how in an article on ElliotsReport.com feel freetown read it and leave a comment...

@Elliotsreport You just explained you "moral code" and said you wanted it.Your moral code is that abortion is not killing. You feel a womens privacy should take presidence over an unborn childs life. That is a moral code. That is yours. How about if someone wants to kill a baby that survives abortion,,is that a right?? Does the mothers desire take presidence then?? How about late term abortion,,what is your bottom line,,and don't you want that reflected in legislation,,of course you do. You crack me up,,,as for immigration,,,excuse anyone for wanted the laws that both dems and republicans made,,followed. Where does it end,,,do you feel we all should be able to pick and choose which laws we follow. You see again,,you are admitting your moral code. Don't be so dramatic, coersion. How about the left who keeps telling us what we should eat and drink. So, I should have the choice to kill my baby but not drink a large coke. You are a liar,,there is not one single incidence of racism and bigotry. Labeling a group, identifying them falsely is bigotry. If I say all blacks are lazy,,clearly it is a lie and racist. You say Tea Party people are racist with no proof,,,ahh makes you a bigot. Tea Party has never said collection SS is wrong,,,it is collection what one has not paid into that is the problem. Even most dems admit we need welfare reform. Matter of fact the lefts hero,,,,Mr. Clinton agreed and did something about it. You are talking leftist lies and propaganda. Oh so you think that the left should be able to spend spend spend with no restraints??? Ok then, I guess you didn't mind when Bush did either. Obstructing sending this country into a Greece like situation isn't a bad thing. It's kind of like if some one is trying to jump off a bridge and you try to stop them.

some have given up on hope for the country,seems those who support wiping their rear on the constitution out number those who think it has served us will for a 100 or so years. funny how now some want to change things and down we go.